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WINONA LAKE - The teen-age son of the tenant at 113 Mineral Springs was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with arson in connection with the fire that damaged that home and a neighboring residence.
Bradley R. Coleman, 17, is preliminarily charged with the offense as a juvenile and will have a hearing Monday to determine whether he will be waived to adult court. If he is waived, the offense is a Class C felony punishable by two to eight years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
Kendall Coleman was renting the home owned by Mark Workman and the fire is believed to have originated at a shed between that home and the residence of Brian Best, 111 Mineral Springs. Both houses sustained damage as a result of the fire. Officials believe gas from a gas can located in a car down the street from the houses was used to set the blaze.
The fire was discovered shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday when a smoke detector sounded at Best's residence. Nobody was home at the Coleman residence when the fire began.
Detective Danny Hall of the Winona Lake Police Department said the younger Coleman was reportedly unhappy with rules at his father's residence and his reasoning for setting the fire allegedly was that if the house was burned down he wouldn't have to live with his dad.
Hall said Coleman admitted starting the fire and that juvenile paperwork was already pending for a smaller fire started with leaves in the same location on a prior occasion.
Bradley Coleman is being held at a juvenile facility in South Bend.
